The Compression of Time
by Nanichi
Summary: Finally...Ultimecia is defeated! But on the way back to his own time, Squall gets lost. He wakes up in a strange world (FFIV). With the imminent collapse of the time stream, will Squall be able to return home in time?
1. Stranger in a Strange Time...

Hi there! ^_^ Well I've been writing fan fictions for a long time, but now I'm finally ready to share some! Please let me know what you think! You might see your suggestions appear in the story as it progresses…  
  
Disclaimer: Of course I don't own Final Fantasy or any of these fine, bishounen men… *drool* Unofficially and in my dreams, Kain and Squall both belong to me. Muahaha! Sephiroth too, but that's besides the point…  
  
PLEASE REVIEW!! ….please?  
  
  
  
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"Selphie! Irvine! Zell!" Squall shouted into the darkness. The only response was his echo. "Quistis!" He ran forward, trailing his sword behind him. He couldn't get caught in the time compress, not now. They had defeated Ultimecia. It was over…wasn't it? He'd seen the sorceress touch Matron.  
  
"Who are you?" Edea had said. "You're…you're that little boy, aren't you? Go back to your own time."  
  
"I'm trying," Squall said to himself. Thick darkness extended as far as he could see. "Where is everyone? I thought I didn't have to be alone anymore…" He stared at the darkness, cupping his gloved hands around his mouth.  
  
"Rinoa!" he screamed. He could feel the emptiness crushing him. Time was compressing. "Rinoa!!" Squall's head began to pound, and he fell to his knees. He slammed at the ground with his fist, his whole body aching. He slipped to the ground smoothly, fighting to keep his eyes open. "I have to…return…the field…" Squall sighed deeply as he passed out.  
  
  
  
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"Sis…he's like, not moving!" Squall barely heard the words. He felt something jabbing him in the side, and groaned. "Hey…I think he's alive."  
  
"Stop poking him!" a young girl's voice. "Sir, are you all right?" The voice was closer this time. Squall tried to open his eyes. The bright sun beat down on him, and the green of the grass was too bright. He closed his eyes, waited a moment, and then tried to open them again. A young girl dressed in pink was staring at him, her hands on her knees. She wore a short green cape that fell around her tiny frame.  
  
"Where…"  
  
"Did you like, hit your head? What's your problem?" Squall slowly sat up, now noticing the similarly clad boy standing beside the girl. He held a long branch in his hand, probably the culprit of Squall's sore stomach.  
  
"Palom!" The girl grabbed the branch and swatted the boy with it. "Don't be so rude!" She turned back to Squall with a sweet smile. Palom rubbed his head, sticking his tongue out at the girl. "Please forgive my brother," the girl said, kneeling beside Squall. "My name is Porom. We're from the village nearby. Are you okay?"  
  
"You look awful," Palom added. Squall rubbed his head, his fingers sliding neatly over his scar.  
  
"…I'm Squall," he said finally, looking at the two children. His headache had cleared up more, and his vision was getting sharper. "Aren't you two a little young to be this far out of your village?"  
  
"Hmph! You're the one passed out in this field!" Palom said, folding his arms.  
  
"…field?" Squall blinked. Had he made it back? "Have you seen a girl? Tall, short black hair…dressed in blue? She has a dog…"  
  
"I haven't seen anyone like that," Porom said. "Could you try standing up? It's actually kind of dangerous where we are, and we should head back to the village if we can." Porom and Palom each grabbed Squall's hand in their chubby ones and tried to help him up. Squall felt shaky, but glad to be on his own feet again. He patted at his sides to make sure he had everything…he paled suddenly.  
  
"My gunblade," he said.  
  
"Your what?" Palom said.  
  
"My gunblade," Squall repeated. "It isn't here!"  
  
"Someone might have found it and brought it to Mysidia," Porom said gently. "Let's go and look." Holding Squall's hand, she began to walk towards the village. Squall stared frantically around the area for something shiny…how could he lose his gunblade? And where on earth was he? He'd never heard of Mysidia, and he had done quite a bit of travelling as a Seed. As he turned his head, he noticed a bush rustle. He stopped and stared. Palom and Porom had noticed as well.  
  
Four short imps jumped out of the bush and surrounded the team. Squall tensed. He wasn't much for boxing – that was more Zell's territory.  
  
"Look out!" Palom yelled as the imps leapt forward.  
  
  
  
To be continued… 


	2. To Mysidia!

The Time Compression  
  
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Hi again ^_^ Here is the second part of the story…please enjoy, and please review if you have the time. ^_^  
  
Quick disclaimer: Since this is fan fiction, I must be a fan. Therefore, I don't own anything and please don't sue me.  
  
Thanks!  
  
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Squall braced himself for the attack, glancing nervously at Palom and Porom. He had to protect them. If only he hadn't lost his gunblade. Squall kicked at the imp's jaw as hard as he could. The imp howled, clutching at its mouth. The creature was about the same height as Palom, and it stumbled backwards from the impact. It unsheathed its sword and ran at Squall again. He leapt out of the way, and the imp stumbled onto the grass. Squall shot a glance at the two children. They were on their knees praying as the imps stepped closer. He silently cursed. Why didn't they at least run for cover? The imp ran for him again, and Squall jumped over him.  
  
"This is ridiculous," Squall muttered. "I'm never going to beat him this way." He jumped forward and kicked the imp again. The imp fell to the ground, holding his head and screeching. Squall spun around to see if Palom and Porom were okay. Suddenly, the two children stood up.  
  
"Flare!" they yelled in unison. The sky darkened and bolts of fire drenched the screaming imps. Two vanished with a loud popping noise. Squall's eyes widened.  
  
"Where did you draw that from?" he asked.  
  
"Draw?" Palom said, confused. The two remaining imps regrouped, and stepped towards the three comrades.  
  
"I don't think I have enough magic strength to do that again," Porom said.  
  
"Me neither, dude, and we don't have time either," Palom added.  
  
"Get behind me," Squall instructed. The two nodded and clung to his legs. Shoot, Squall thought, sweat dripping down his forehead.  
  
Suddenly a loud sound echoed through the field. It sounded like a tiny herd on the move. The imps blinked, startled. The sound got louder and louder, and the ground shook slightly.  
  
"It sounds like…" Squall began to say.  
  
"Kwehhhh!!" A small herd of chocobos came into view. On the back of a rather large one was a man in deep blue armour, spear in hand.  
  
"Look out!" Porom yelled. Palom and Squall followed as they ran out of the way. The imps, too startled to move, stared as the chocobos bounded towards them. The tiny popping noise of the imps disappearing was overpowered by the chocobos pounding feet.  
  
"Isn't that…?" Palom began to say, looking at the man riding the large chocobo. The man reigned in the beast, and some of the smarter chocobos followed his lead. The rest of the herd disappeared into the forest.  
  
"Kain!" Porom shouted. The man halted his chocobo, dismounted, and lifted the dragon helmet off his head.  
  
"Porom," he said, "and Palom. What are you two doing so far out of Mysidia?" He turned to Squall. "Who are you?" he said, loosely gripping his spear.  
  
"…Squall," Squall replied. "And Porom said you're…Kain?" The dragoon nodded. His chocobo pecked noisly at the ground.  
  
"Kwehh!"  
  
"I haven't seen you before…where are you from?"  
  
"Balamb Garden," Squall answered.  
  
"Where?" Porom said. They all look at him, confused.  
  
"Balamb Garden," he repeated. "I'm a Seed. It's by the city of Balamb…?" They looked at him, blank.  
  
"I've travelled all over the world," Kain said, "but I've never heard of Balamb."  
  
"That seems to be the trend," Squall said. "Do you know about gunblades?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"That's what I thought." Where am I, Squall thought to himself. He suddenly paled. The Time Compression. Had he been sent to the wrong time? "Look," he said, "I think this is going to sound unbelievable but… my friends and I were fighting an evil sorceress, and after we defeated her, I passed out, and woke up here."  
  
Palom and Porom blinked.  
  
"Um…did you, like, hit your head really hard, dude? Because…" Palom said. Porom glared at him, but remained silent.  
  
"What are you trying to say, Squall?" asked Kain. He sounded serious, and Squall felt slightly relieved. At least someone believed him.  
  
"Ultimecia…the sorceress…attempted to compress time. I think maybe I returned to the wrong…time," he finished lamely.  
  
"This is pretty serious," Porom said. "If your story is true…what if Ultimecia comes here?"  
  
"She can't," Squall said. "We defeated her."  
  
"Yet she successfully compressed time," Kain added. "So why are we still here?"  
  
"Maybe when you defeated her, time decompressed again," Palom said.  
  
"Yeah!" Porom chimed in. "So you just went to the wrong time."  
  
"And we didn't even noticed the compression because it went back to the same way it was. Time might have stopped but of course we wouldn't notice. We'd be stopped too!" Palom said.  
  
"We need to get you back home," Kain said. "Not only for you, but for us." Squall nodded. He was thinking the same thing.  
  
"I probably damaged the time stream coming here," Squall said grimly. "I need to go back." She's waiting for me, he thought. Rinoa…  
  
"Let's go talk to Cecil," said Palom. "He'll know what to do!"  
  
"We can take the Serpent Road from Mysidia," Porom said. Kain nodded, plunked his helmet back on his head, and leapt onto his chocobo. Two other chocobos stepped forward. Palom helped Porom up, and in turn she pulled him up behind her.  
  
"Do you know…?" Kain began.  
  
"We have chocobos where I come from too," Squall said. He leapt smoothly onto the back of a deep purple bird.  
  
"Um…" Palom said. Squall spurred the bird on, and it began to flap its wings.  
  
"What is it doing?" Squall said, alarmed. Porom giggled. The purple chocobo was now a foot of the ground.  
  
"Those kind fly," said Kain. Squall blinked, and then a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. He broke into a huge grin.  
  
"Let's go!" Squall said, urging the chocobo into a fast gallop on the wind. Kain smiled to himself, and the party headed towards Mysidia.  
  
  
  
To be continued… 


End file.
